President of the University of Michigan

 

See also: History of the University of Michigan

The President of the University of Michigan is the principal executive officer of the University of Michigan. The office was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1850, which also specified that the president was to be appointed by the Regents of the University of Michigan and preside at their meetings, but without a vote. Between the establishment of the University of Michigan in 1837 and 1850, the Board of Regents ran the university directly; although they were, by law, supposed to appoint a Chancellor to administer the university, they never did, and instead a rotating roster of professors carried out the day-to-day administration duties.

While the modern office was created in 1850, the University of Michigan itself now traces its date of founding to 1817, when its precursor, the University of Michigania, was founded. The only president of that institution, Rev. John Monteith, is listed below, but is not officially considered to have been a president of the University of Michigan.

The first President of the University of Michigan was Henry Philip Tappan. The position had originally been offered to Henry Barnard, but he declined, and Tappan and John Hiram Lathrop (then Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison) were nominated as new choices, after which Tappan was unanimously elected. Barnard later succeeded Lathrop at Wisconsin.

The 13th and current President of the University of Michigan is Mary Sue Coleman, appointed in 2002. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Coleman's 2006-2007 compensation was $742,148, the fifth-highest among public university presidents.

Of the previous presidents:

• 1 had the office abolished
• 1 died in office
• 1 was removed by the regents (for which subsequent regents apologized)
• 4 retired at the end of their careers
• 2 resigned to return to teaching or research
• 4 resigned to move to posts at other institutions (Northwestern University, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Princeton University, and Columbia University)

List of Presidents of the University of Michigan System

Number	Name	Years in office	Notes
	Rev. John Monteith	1817–1821	First and only President of the University of Michigania
	none	1821–1837	Office abolished in favor of a Board of Trustees
	none	1837–1852	Board of Regents replaces Board of Trustees
1	Henry Philip Tappan	1852–1863	First President of the University of Michigan, removed by regents
2	Erastus Otis Haven	1863–1869	Resigned to become President of Northwestern University
acting	Henry S. Frieze	1869–1871	Following President Haven's resignation.
3	James Burrill Angell	1871–1909	Retired after 38 years (longest-serving president)
acting	Henry S. Frieze	1880–1882	While President Angell is U.S. Minister to China
acting	Henry S. Frieze	1887–1888	While President Angell is on International Commission of Canadian Fisheries
acting	Harry Burns Hutchins	1897–1898	While President Angell is U.S. Minister to Turkey
interim	Harry Burns Hutchins	1909–1910	Following President Angell's retirement.
4	Harry Burns Hutchins	1910–1920	Was the first student to receive a degree from James B. Angell at Michigan; retired
5	Marion LeRoy Burton	1920–1925	Died in office
acting	Alfred Henry Lloyd	1925	From February through September after the death of President Burton
6	Clarence Cook Little	1925–1929	Resigned to conduct research at Bar Harbor, Maine
7	Alexander Grant Ruthven	1929–1951	Retired after 22 years in office
8	Harlan Hatcher	1951–1968	Retired
9	Robben Wright Fleming	1968–1979	Resigned, was chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
interim	Allan Frederick Smith	1979	Following President Fleming's resignation.
10	Harold Tafler Shapiro	1980–1988	Resigned to become President of Princeton University
interim	Robben Wright Fleming	1988	Following President Shapiro's resignation.
11	James Johnson Duderstadt	1988–1996	Resigned to return to teaching
interim	Homer A. Neal	1996	Following President Duderstadt's resignation.
12	Lee C. Bollinger	1996–2002	Resigned to become President of Columbia University
interim	B. Joseph White	2002	Following President Bollinger's resignation.
13	Mary Sue Coleman	2002–present	First woman President at UM. Her name was inscribed on the new wall at the construction site of the new Museum of Art.

Source: (Bentley Historical Library 2004)

References

• Bentley Historical Library (2004), University of Michigan Presidents, http://bentley.umich.edu/bhl/uarphome/umpresid.htm, retrieved 2007-08-24 
• Hinsdale, Burke A. (1906), Demmon, Isaac, ed., History of the University of Michigan, University of Michigan, http://books.google.com/?id=z6sWAAAAIAAJ, retrieved 2007-08-16 
• Sahadi, Jeanne (November 20, 2006), Highest paid college presidents, CNNMoney.com, http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/20/pf/college/college_president_pay/index.htm?postversion=2006112009, retrieved 2007-08-24 
• State of Michigan (1850), Constitution of Michigan of 1850, http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Michigan_Constitution_of_1850, retrieved 2007-08-24